The Date Night: How It Should Have Happened
by Lily Hanson
Summary: ONESHOT - Follows Samurai's Best Friend - Jayden and Antonio head out for another date night. Hopefully all goes well this time.


_Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers: (Super) Samurai. This is purely fan-made._

Storm was a small dog, but she had bite.

She had been in the house for nearly a week now and was adapting to the Samurai's routine. Jayden found that her favourite pastimes seemed to be propping herself up on furniture and staring out the window, as well as chasing the Zords around. As a shiba, she was a hunting dog and her instincts to go after the smaller creatures wasn't about to die away anytime soon, but the Zords had learned to turn the hunt into a game and were beginning to enjoy the small dog's company

She was already housebroken and a very tidy dog. She didn't like to make a mess of her territory or of herself. She spent quite some time every day cleaning herself off with her tongue and seemed to love organizing her bed space. She had a towel that she cuddled up with at night, and during the day the towel always needed to be placed on her bed. If someone would come and move it, Storm would hurry over and put it back where she wanted it.

But, above all, she loved to play. She loved getting special attention from everyone in the house, especially Emily. Though she was the Samurai's dog, no one had any doubts that Emily would be the first to bond so closely with her and become her mistress. As the days went by, the Samurai all saw Storm sticking by Emily's side and cuddling up with her on the couch when she sat down. When Storm got spooked, she would rush to Emily. At one point, when the Rangers were training outside, Mike knocked Emily over and Storm saw from the window that her mistress was being attacked. She barked loudly and ran for the door, unable to get out, but making it very clear that if Mike didn't leave Emily alone, he would be in for some shit, shiba style.

Jayden loved that about Storm. She was small, she was clean, she was disciplined, she was cuddly, she was fun, and she was protective. With the dog by his side, he had no problem venturing out to the park with his boyfriend. Though it was unlikely they would run into the eight men who had beat him and Antonio up, it was nice knowing they had a small but deadly bodyguard to keep them safe. Though they received a few stares from people, everyone left them alone.

"Every bird," Antonio groaned, pulling back on the leash as Storm barked and tried to go after a bird that had caught her eye. "If it's smaller than her, she'll attack it."

"Just don't let go of the leash," Jayden said. "We'd be dead meat if we went home and told the others Storm ran away."

"If I lost her, I would never go home," Antonio said with a shake of his head. He pointed down the street to the harbour, "You see that?"

"Yeah."

"I would start swimming and I would never come back."

Jayden chuckled. He leaned in, resting his head on Antonio's shoulder, "Not even for me?"

"You'd be right behind me," Antonio said, "And by behind, I mean if a shark comes after us, he's eating you first."

"My brave boyfriend," Jayden teased, rolling his eyes as he playfully shoved Antonio.

"Hey, you're the fearless leader, remember?" Antonio chuckled, "I'm the new guy. The computer genius! The fisherman."

"Alright, I'll be the one to wrestle the shark," Jayden took the leash from Antonio's hand and tied it to the belt loop on his pants so Storm couldn't get away from them. When the knot was secure, he looked to Antonio and pulled his boyfriend in for a kiss.

"Get a room, homos!" someone shouted. Jayden did his best to ignore the comment. Storm, however, sounded pissed. It was like she somehow knew someone was trying to hurt one of her many owners and she wouldn't have it. Her playful bark deepened, expressing her anger as she snapped at the one who made the comment. She couldn't go far, because of the leash holding her back, but it seemed the person who made the comment didn't want it to let her go. Before Jayden could have a look at the person, they were gone, scared off by the dog.

Antonio knelt down, petting Storm on the head, "Atta girl! You don't have a problem with Jayden and me, do you?"

"That's some dog you have there," someone said and the boys turned around to see two men approaching them. The fact that these men were holding hands told Jayden and Antonio all they needed to know for right now. They were also gay.

"She's new," Antonio lifted Storm into his arms. He didn't know how she was with meeting new people and would rather she not snap at these two seemingly harmless men, "She's our friend's dog, but we decided to take her on a walk."

"Whatever shuts the world up, right," one of the men nodded. He held out his hand, shaking it with both Antonio and Jayden, "I'm Harley and this is my partner Jim."

Antonio and Jayden greeted the two and introduced themselves and Storm. While Harley seemed fascinated by the dog, trying to introduce himself, Jim gave Jayden and Antonio a little smile.

"You know, it's not very often we see another gay couple walking around unafraid of the world's judgements."

Antonio smirked and flicked his thumb in Jayden's direction, "He's the fearless one. I still have a bit of a headache from the last time we did this."

"Eight guys tried to tell us we weren't in love," Jayden explained. Harley and Jim exchanged looks and Harley started to unbutton his shirt.

"I know exactly what you're talking about," he opened his shirt just enough to show the boys the right side of his chest where a nasty scar had healed, but was still very visible. "I came out in high school. I went to a catholic High School and… well, enough said. Apparently it's okay to stab someone, but it's not okay to love a man if you're a man."

"Ouch, that sounds bad," Antonio gulped and looked to Jayden. Suddenly their horrible date seemed like a walk in the park.

"Worst part is," Jim sighed, "Harley's the one who got expelled from school."

"Wow," Jayden couldn't believe it. He had never gone to a regular High School himself, but he couldn't imagine what Harley must have gone through. Antonio grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently for comfort. For a brief moment, a look of fear must have crossed both their faces, because Harley buttoned up his shirt again and he and Jim gave them apologetic looks.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to scare you guys," Harley said, "It's just not often we get to share with people who've been there. We've got a lot of friends who are sympathetic they just… you don't know it unless you've lived it. The names, the hate, the looks. All I want is a night with the man I love, but I can't get that. Not in public."

Jayden gave a small smile, "Actually, maybe you can."

"What's that look, Jay?" Antonio asked, seeing something in his boyfriend's eye, "Uh oh, that's his plan face."

"Plan face?"

Jayden smiled, "There's four of us and Storm, and she'll live up to her name if she has to. What do you say we go to a restaurant, eat on the patio so we can keep Storm nearby, and we can all have a night with our partners."

Antonio squeezed Jayden's hand again, this time lovingly. He liked the idea of going to a restaurant with Jayden, and sharing that time with another couple who had been through what he and Jayden were tackling now.

Harley and Jim seemed to agree as well and suggested a restaurant they went to all the time, where the staff knew them by name and where problem encounters were kept to a minimum.

On the way, Antonio noticed something on both Jim and Harley's hands, "Are those wedding rings?"

"Where did you get married?" Jayden asked.

"Took a trip up north," Harley smiled, "Got married in Vancouver B.C. I'll tell you right now, it was one of the best nights of our lives."

"We'll tell you all about it when we get to the restaurant," Jim said, "Of course, that's only after you two tell us how you met."

"You're a cute couple," Harley grinned and Jim agreed, nodding his head.

-Samurai-

It was the best night out Jayden had ever had.

Harley and Jim were much older than Jayden and Antonio, and therefore they had plenty of experiences to share, as well as advice for the two boys. They shared their good times and their bad times, and in spite of all the hate, and thanks to all the love and support they had from their friends, they made it through and were one of the strongest couples Jayden and Antonio had ever met. They had so much love for each other and so much respect, it gave Jayden hope. Maybe, one day, he wouldn't have to hide behind his friends or his dog to enjoy a night out with his boyfriend. Maybe he would be strong and confident enough to go out on his own.

As soon as they were in their room, all alone, Jayden gently grabbed Antonio and pulled him on the bed, bringing him into a deep kiss.

"Whoa, what's this for?"

"I love you," Jayden answered. "I love you and nothing anyone says or does will change that."

"I love you too, Jayden," Antonio smiled. He leaned back on the bed and wrapped Jayden in his arms. He kissed him passionately, enjoying the moment and knowing there were plenty more to come for him and his boyfriend.


End file.
